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Abstract

A new learning in the workplace and community policy (LiWC) at Victoria University has been introduced to ensure that graduates are job and career ready. The policy mandates that all programs incorporate at least a 25% workplace contextual learning component by 2010. For the IT undergraduate program, compliance with this policy poses a number of significant challenges, not least of which is the meeting of professional accreditation criteria. Acquiring a recognized professional body accreditation, like that of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), is pivotal for all IT Australian programs, in that, it is a vital quality assurance measure and it enhances program marketability. For an ACS accreditation, the course structure and content of the IT program is examined against the Society‘s defined core body of knowledge (CBOK) which covers both generic and ICT specific skill sets. This paper describes the current Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree structure with respect to the ACS‘s CBOK. Within this framework, a possible strategy is proposed for realizing the University‘s LiWC policy whilst conforming to accreditation requirements. Finally the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed approach are discussed.